500 Or Less
by grimdreamer
Summary: A collection of drabbles written for Nicluvly's Music Room #3: An Ouran HSHC FanFiction Contest Community as entries for the A-Z drabble contest. Competition guidelines: drabbles 500 words or less.
1. A: Angst

**Summary****:**

_Yuzuha is sad that the twins no longer seem to miss her..._

Refers to Chapter 45 in the manga, where Kaoru reveals that he used to sulk about his mother.

* * *

**Piece of Thread**

Although she would have liked to sleep in, a lifetime habit ensured that Yuzuha was awake at the crack of dawn. With her husband in Osaka, she was not surprised to find herself alone in their king-sized bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly, even as her personal maid entered the bedroom.

Silver tray in hand, the maid bowed and presented a steaming cup which did not contain what Yuzuha normally expected; instead of Columbian mocha, a fusion of ginger and lemon tea awaited her on the tray, along with a packet of Chinese herbal medicine.

'No…' Yuzuha whispered, reaching up to touch the skin of her forehead; it was blazing hot, despite the cool air-con settings. 'I'm ill?'

The maid nodded.

'_Yes!'_ cried Yuzuha. 'Day off!'

A different maid arrived with a trolley of breakfast, accompanied by Yuzuha's live-in secretary, who informed her that all appointments had been cancelled and re-arranged for next week. Yuzuha bowed her thanks and asked to see Hikaru and Kaoru, who eventually appeared in their Ouran Academy uniforms.

'Morning, Mom,' they said in complete unison, standing close to the bed so that Yuzuha could inspect them. As usual, they were identical, save for the partings of their cinnamon hair and the way that one of them was not quite looking at her.

Pretending not to notice, Yuzuha brushed imaginary lint from their blazers and straightened their ties, perfunctory gestures they knew were affection. Unlike normal mothers, Yuzuha was always busy, travelling between home and office to develop her designer label. Without meaning to, such a lifestyle had limited her time with Hikaru and Kaoru, a fact which the twins had slowly grown accustomed to. Try as she might to rectify the impact of her absence, it was just too late now to make them really miss her. They no longer searched the mansion for her presence these days and her constant failure at the "Which is Hikaru, which is Kaoru?" game had become a running joke. When there was nothing to do, nothing to distract her, Yuzuha would think of the twins and how things had changed, and it would make her wish at times for a life that was somehow different.

'Are you done?' asked the twin, whose eyes had moved from the tie in his mother's hand to the watch on his wrist.

This twin was Kaoru, the one that never looked at her.

Smiling, Yuzuha patted his shoulder. It made her sad that he disliked her in some way. Feeling tears prickling at her eyes, she turned her attention to a piece of loose thread sticking out from the sleeve of Kaoru's blazer. Concerned with this sudden flaw, she pulled at the thread, thinking it would simply come out, but there seemed to be no end to the thread she was pulling…

'Gotcha!' grinned the twins, as the thread finally finished on Yuzuha's blankets.

Yuzuha laughed and kissed them "goodbye". 'You sure got me,' she said.


	2. B: Beauty

**Summary:**

_Kazukiyo is the victim of a beautiful friendship._

_

* * *

_

**Counting Pencils**

Kazukiyo counted his mechanical pencils, lining their silver bodies on the surface of his desk. Counting pencils had become the latest diversion that Kazukiyo could think of. He always counted pencils just before lunch, but no one knew why except for Kazukiyo himself. Had anyone thought to enquire what the exercise was for, they might have laughed at his answer, as nothing like that ever happened at this school, but Kazukiyo knew that it was happening, he just _knew_.

Looking up from the pencils, Kazukiyo sensed he was not alone. Muscles in his shoulders stiffened. He risked a glance behind him, saw who it was, and subtly relaxed. It was just Kurakano-san gathering a notebook. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of her footsteps; ones that he imagined were leaving him forever. Since becoming a client of the Host Club, Kazukiyo saw less of her than he used to, turning the girl he admired into one of those hanging portraits who would gaze at him from the wall with increasingly distant eyes.

'Soga-kun,' said the voice of Kurakano.

Kazukiyo jumped; the girl was beside him.

A pencil rolled past the edge of his desk.

And she caught it.

'What are you doing?' Kurakano asked, returning the pencil.

He stared at the manicured hand with its varnished fingernails clutching the notebook tight to her chest. School policy prevented the girls from wearing make-up, even nail polish, and Kazukiyo was having a strange time deciding which had surprised him the most: Kurakano breaking a rule, speaking to him directly, or catching mechanical pencils far better than he could.

'Thinking,' said Kazukiyo, at last. 'Just thinking.'

Smiling, Kurakano turned and finally left the classroom.

Kazukiyo let out a sigh, thoroughly ashamed. How could the son of a politician lose his tongue like that?

He stared once again at the pencils, wishing that he knew who on earth was doing this. For the past week, Kazukiyo's life had become progressively worse. His lunch had gone missing, the key to his locker no longer worked, and pages from his textbooks had either been defaced or completely removed by anonymous culprits. While these misdemeanours were small, too small to really talk about, the hassle they caused was enough to drive him crazy.

And counting pencils was just the start of it.

'Hey, how did it go?'

Kazukiyo raised his head, too upset to be startled. It was the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. 'How did what go?' he muttered, counting pencils.

The twins slipped into seats on either side of Kazukiyo and rested their elbows slyly on his desk. 'Did she speak to you?' they whispered.

'Did who speak to me?'

'Momoka, of course.'

'_Don't say her name!'_

'Well, did she?'

'What if she did?'

The twins grinned; then stood up. 'Girls can't resist a brooding stranger, right?'

'What do you mean?' Kazukiyo gaped.

'Make the most of it, Pres,' they told him, heading for the door. 'We won't be bullying you for long!'


	3. C: Crash

**Summary:**

_Second place in Nicluvly's "C" drabble competition._

_Anyone can survive an accident, as long as they think they can._

_

* * *

_

**Crash**

Hikaru had been the luckiest of the three, surviving with cuts and mild whiplash which came from the limo striking a lorry in front.

Had it not been for Hikaru's quick thinking, the ambulance may have been too late to save the driver, who would never drive a limo or walk without help.

The second survivor – luckier, though not by much – had been the younger twin, Kaoru.

When the surgeons announced that the operation would succeed, the Hitachiins bowed with thin-lipped assent – anything to ease the pain of their son.

The surgeons went ahead, and pushing Kaoru's gurney, saw the strangest of sights: a crying teen wishing himself the best of luck and squeezing his clone tightly by the hand.

After weeks of intensive care, then a tentative transfer to a private ward offered by Mr Ootori, Kaoru began to recover and behave almost like the old Kaoru did.

'We're still the same,' Hikaru kept insisting, tireless in his wish to console.

If the obsession Kaoru displayed with the mirror had ever alarmed him, Hikaru was strong enough to keep it to himself.

Kaoru only did this when there was no one else in the room.

* * *

Having beaten his twin for what seemed like forever, it came as a shock that he was now behind and could barely scrape the top twenty in his own class, let alone the whole school.

Losing his looks, losing his mind... it was all too much for Kaoru to handle.

He stayed at home – requested home-schooling – to hide the shame that he always felt.

Although his brain appeared to improve, returning to a level it once had prior to the accident, the fact that he was not the same could not be shaken from Kaoru.

One by one, all the lights within Kaoru slowly went out.

The face shut its door.

And the eyes closed their windows.

And the mouth only spoke if the sentence was perfect.

In a rare and final temper, Hikaru grabbed his twin by the shoulders, rattling the fragments only the smallest of Russian dolls could hear within.

Until Kaoru could start to believe that nothing was wrong with him, that he could resume the same song that he had played with Hikaru all of his life, then no amount of shouting and shaking would spill the real Kaoru out.

He had not been that lucky compared to his brother.

He did not care about the driver and his legs.

What Kaoru cared about was his new identity.

The fact that he was no longer himself.


	4. D: Doll

**Summary****:**

_Tied second place in Nicluvly's "D" drabble competition._

_Sometimes a death can make someone love you._

* * *

**Shizuko**

Not so long ago was a girl named Shizuko.

Like many girls at Ouran Academy, she confessed to the twins.

Only to hear them laugh and tear up her letter.

As they smirked, she stifled her sobs and wrote them another.

And stood for a while near the window.

Until the wind started whipping her skirt and her hair.

* * *

'She never gives up, does she?' scoffed Hikaru. 'Let's meet her one last time.'

They went to the courtyard where most confessions took place and waited.

'Where is she?' asked Kaoru, after a while.

'I don't know,' said Hikaru, checking his watch.

Then heard a loud thud behind them.

Puzzled, they turned.

On the ground lay the girl named Shizuko.

She had fallen head first, streaking their clothes with everything she knew.

And her body made a rose across the pale courtyard.

Shizuko's letter fell from Hikaru's hand.

He backed away as others arrived.

And shook his head when they stared at him.

* * *

'This isn't my fault,' Hikaru said. 'This isn't my fault!'

'We can see that,' replied the detective, who interviewed the witness. 'She jumped from the roof.'

'But why?' murmured Hikaru. 'Why did she do that?'

'I don't know, sir. But she did leave you this…'

* * *

A doll with long black hair judged Hikaru through faded eyes.

He threw the doll and covered his head with a pillow, refusing to attend the stupid girl's funeral.

Kaoru went by himself and gazed into the casket on Hikaru's behalf.

Shizuko was from the west, so she was having a western funeral.

He touched her face, sad for his brother.

And felt something warm push at his hand.

Kaoru collided with another classmate.

Quickly, he apologised and left the altar.

He remembered the worm in Shizuko's smile.

* * *

'It wasn't your fault, either,' Hikaru told his twin for the millionth time.

Due to Kaoru's nightmares, they were sharing a bed.

And this bed had an overhead canopy with dark curtains screening all sides.

As Kaoru lay awake, shivering in Hikaru's embrace, he knew now what the bed resembled.

A coffin, the inside of a coffin, and Kaoru would be damned if he carried on sleeping here!

He gently pried apart his brother's arms, lifting the bony limbs that were strangely light and dry.

'No,' said a voice, 'don't leave. Stay with me forever, like you're supposed to!'

Kaoru leapt from the bed, afraid – _that isn't Hikaru!_

His foot touched the floor of the bedroom, only to find empty space.

He was falling…

falling…

and falling…

* * *

'Kaoru!' shouted Hikaru, slapping the younger twin's face.

The sting remained long after Hikaru went to school.

His first journey to school in weeks.

Ill and tired, Kaoru saw him leave from the window.

Then looked at the doll sitting by the ledge.

Without thinking, he picked it up and smoothed its hair.

'I'm sorry I didn't love you,' Kaoru whispered.

And tucked the doll into bed.

Unlike Hikaru, he would never throw her away.

Not his Shizuko.


	5. E: Eternal

**Summary:**

_When you struggle with friendship, you struggle with love._

* * *

**With Nothing Above Us**

_They say friendship is eternal, that friendship lasts forever. _

_And I certainly thought so, when I was still friends with you._

_

* * *

_

We met by accident in the hall, on the brightest day of summer.

The best time to meet you, now that I think about it, but it didn't seem that way at the time.

'Excuse me,' you say, brushing past me roughly.

_Was that an accent? _

I stare after you disappearing down the corridor, a whip of yellow fabric and the sound of running footsteps.

_So we have a transfer student,_ I muse, overhearing the twins complain.

'She scares me,' one of them admits, wafting dust from your hurried departure.

* * *

'You scare me a little too,' I admit, when you finally sit next to me on the couch, quietly sipping a cup of tea. 'Your favourite host is Fujioka Haruhi. Mine as well.'

With a dreamy smile, you launch into a panegyric that somehow perturbs me, turning what we have into something so common.

'Let's start a journal all about the Host Club!'

The proposal draws the interest of other girls around you, until I'm the only one sipping tea.

I stare at you, interrupted.

* * *

'What a success! I never thought they would sell that many!'

We're in a classroom now, poring over some stupid ledger.

But we're alone, and that's what counts.

I watch the afternoon light dance in your eyes and they flash when you turn.

'You don't come to the Host Club… why?'

_Do you _still_ want to know that?_

I shrug and tell you that the club is not for me, not anymore.

'That's a shame,' you say. 'If you ever want to come back, I'll be sure to put in a good word!'

'Whatever for?' I ask; just to test you.

'Because they'd forgive you.'

I want to scream, '_I don't want that!_

Though all you see is the first smile I've formed since leaving the Host Club.

* * *

You turn on the fountain and water flows like an arc into the basin.

We're outside, alone, with nothing above us.

So why do I feel like a thousand eyes are watching…

Oblivious, you bend your head to the fountain and drink from the arc.

I try not to shake with frustration.

'Renge, do you like me? Do you care for me at all?'

And those hazel eyes look at me, bright with a million futures.

Then one of them goes out.

I hide my tears in the fountain, feeling the water numb my sobbing face.

While you leave me, I pretend that, somewhere, this was a kiss.

And that we're alone, with nothing above us.


	6. F: Fate

**Summary:**

_Second place in Nicluvly's "F" drabble competition._

_Hunny likes Reiko but Reiko doesn't like him._

* * *

**Don't You Know That I've Cursed You**

You asked me today  
to sit down and play

with your pink pastel bunny.

You know I hate pink,  
so how could you think

that this would be funny?

_Don't you know that I've cursed you,  
that I just want to hurt you?_

* * *

You smile all the same,  
as if it's a game,

while you gaze at the table.

You're cute, I admit,  
but don't like you one bit,

because you're unstable.

_Don't you know that I've cursed you,  
that I just want to hurt you?_

* * *

And then you pour tea,  
before I agree,

like we're already dating.

You know I hate cake,  
so why did you bake

something so irritating?

_Don't you know that I've cursed you,_  
_that I just want to hurt you?_

* * *

You ask me what's wrong;  
can't we just get along…?

_I'm losing my patience._

You make me so mad,  
my rhyming goes bad–

What the hell rhymes with "patience"?

_Don't you know that I've cursed you,  
that I just want to hurt you?_

* * *

But once I escape  
this horrible fate,

that's the end of the story.

You know I hate you  
and the things that you do:

just ask your friend Mori.

_Don't you know that I've cursed you?_


	7. G: Golden

**SUMMARY:**

_Second place in Nicluvly's "G" drabble competition._**  
**

_Should he tell them or should he keep cool?_

* * *

**But My Eyes Still See**

He made the discovery by accident, searching through the waste paper basket belonging to his dad.

A number without a name, and the symbol for "woman" etched over and over, like the way people drew stars and flowers obsessively in a notebook.

'Did you find it?' asked his dad, entering the study.

Hikaru jumped, then smiled, and gave his dad the invoice. As he strolled down the staircase, he looked again at the number and entered it on his cell-phone.

A woman picked up, surprised.

Startled, he ended the call and went to rejoin his twin Kaoru, while somewhere in the mansion, another cell-phone was ringing.

* * *

'Dad,' said Hikaru, standing near the doorframe, 'is there something you want to tell me?'

'What do you mean?' asked the calm-faced man sitting in his father's chair and typing away at an email.

The hallway was bright with the gleam of light-bulbs and the man soon turned to the shadow of his son.

'Is it to her?' Hikaru persisted.

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

Hikaru mastered himself. 'I gave you a chance,' he told his father, 'remember that.' Then he hurried past Kaoru walking in the corridor.

'What's going on?' his brother asked.

But Hikaru did not respond.

* * *

He stared at his mum, bewildered. 'Why are you speaking in English?'

'Because it's easier,' she answered, and repeated the same sentence slowly, until he understood that she, too, was having an affair. 'I am so sorry. I really am. I was really going to tell you…'

Hikaru almost laughed. The idea had been to tell her first, before the matter grew out of hand, and his eyes must have said this, for she took him suddenly in her arms and wept, as if she had known all along.

'Hikaru, forgive me… forgive me… please forgive me…'

In the distance, servants moved, closing every door upon them.

Smiling, Hikaru promised not to mention his mother's secret.

Not to Kaoru, not to anyone.

'I love you,' she whispered, 'and that will never change.'

If only she had said this to Dad.

* * *

Hikaru settled on the bed, careful not to wake his younger twin. He wanted so much to talk to him, to tell him the things he had learned today, except the expression on Kaoru's face was enough to stop him.

So he listened to music late into the night, flicking listlessly through songs on his iPod as he mulled about the future.

It was not his place to reveal what he knew, but how could he ignore it? His parents would divorce some day. Would they pull him and Kaoru apart?

As he struggled with the options in his mind, a song seemed to merge with Hikaru's thoughts, one he had often heard in the past, though never paid much attention to.

Troubled, he tried to close his eyes and go against its wisdom, even as the words _"silence is golden"_ gently filled the room.


End file.
